Mario Zagallo, a great footballer from Brazil who played and coached in four World Cups, passed away unexpectedly at the age of ninety-two.
Brazil World Cup legend Mario Zagallo dies at 92
Zagallo became the first person to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager in 1970 after coaching a highly regarded Brazil team that included Pele and Jairzinho to victory in back-to-back championships as a player in 1958 and 1962.
Zagallo supported Carlos Alberto Parreira as an assistant coach during Brazil’s World Cup victory in the United States in 1994. In 1998, he guided Brazil to the final as well, but the hosts, France, defeated them.
President Ednaldo Rodrigues of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) declared Zagallo a “idol of our football” in a statement released in the early hours of Saturday, confirming his passing. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) made the announcement on social media in an official statement.
The reasons behind the fabled Lobo Zagallo were not mentioned in the statement. The four-time world champion was admitted to the hospital in August of last year due to a urinary tract infection in Rio de Janeiro, though, due to health issues.
